Site Mobile Navigation

Francisco Rabal, 75, Prominent Spanish Actor

Francisco Rabal, one of Spain's most popular and prolific stage and movie actors, became ill and died on Aug. 29 while flying home from the Montreal Film Festival. He was 75.

Mr. Rabal began coughing and was given oxygen during his flight from Canada to Spain, his wife, the actress Asunción Balaguer, told the Spanish national news agency, Efe. The plane made a special landing in Bordeaux, France, but Mr. Rabal died before doctors reached him, Ms. Balaguer said.

During his extensive acting career, Mr. Rabal, who was also known as Paco Rabal, worked with a long line of top movie directors, from Luis Buñuel in the 1950's to today's Oscar-winning Pedro Almodóvar. He appeared in Mr. Almodóvar's 1989 hit, ''Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down.''

He was also known for his commitment to human rights and other social causes.

He won the Cannes best-actor award in 1984 for his performance in ''The Holy Innocents,'' in which he played a fool. He was to receive the Donostia Prize, a lifetime award, at the Basque region's prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival this month. He won a Goya best-actor award two years ago.

''My English is deficient,'' he said. ''Furthermore, I don't like the North American lifestyle, replete with individualistic ambition.''

Mr. Rabal, who appeared in more than 200 plays and films, played numerous supporting roles in the 1940's but became a major star with the leading role in ''Nazarin'' in 1958. In that Buñuel film, he played a young priest in Mexico who is surrounded by prostitutes, thieves and other troublesome types. The film won a Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this obituary; biography appears in print on September 10, 2001, on Page A00027 of the National edition with the headline: Francisco Rabal, 75, Prominent Spanish Actor. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe